Madras High Court stays order on dress code for devotees, visitors to temples

Madurai: The Madras High Court today stayed a single judge's order framing a dress code for devotees and all other visitors to temples under control of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department in the state.

Justices V Ramasubramanian and N Kirubakaran stayed the order while admitting an appeal filed by the HR&CE department and one G Sarika of Southern Districts Women's Federation.

This is the second appeal on the issue. The state government had earlier filed an appeal challenging the single judge’s order on several grounds, including the correctness of compelling temple goers to adhere to a dress code. It had said individual temples were free to prescribe separate dress codes according to their customs.

In her appeal, Sarika claimed the dress code was against an individual’s right to wear clothing of his or her choice. Alleging that the single judge's order was "highly discriminatory," the appellant claimed that the restrictions imposed by the judge "are against the fundamental rights, particularly of women and children".